a night at karlštejn – myths and facts about one of the most famous czech castles
DESCRIPTION
A Night at Karlštejn – Myths and Facts about One of the Most Famous Czech Castles. Daniel Cheníček. Introduction. Karlstejn Castle is one of the most fairy tale castles The Castle was built in Gothic style in 1348-1365. It was built by Charles IV - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
A NIGHT AT KARLŠTEJN – MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST
FAMOUS CZECH CASTLES
Daniel Cheníček
INTRODUCTION
Karlstejn Castle is one of the most fairy tale castles
The Castle was built in Gothic style in 1348-1365. It was built by Charles IV
The Imperial Regalia, crown jewels, holy relics and other royal treasures were kept there.
The Castle was built upon a rock calcic promontory
It is located about 30 kilometres southwest of Prague
DESCRIPTION
Karlštejn is a massive stone gothic castle. It consists of several separate buildings
The most important parts of the castle there are:
:The Well Tower
:The Burgrave House
:The Imperial Palace
:The Marian Tower
:The Big Tower
THE WELL TOWER
Although the well is 81 metres deep
An underground channel brings water from a nearby stream
THE BURGRAVE HOUSE
The Burgrave House was rebuilt many times
Now it is used for an administration of the castle and a lot of solemn rituals take place there.
THE IMPERIAL PALACE
The palace was a residence of a monarch
His family and his courtiers under Charles IV. and Václav IV.
THE MARIAN TOWER
The Marian tower is connected with The Imperial Palace by the bridge
There are valuable wall paintings with biblical motives in the church
On the first floor there is treasury
Visitors can see a copy of the crown of Saint Wenceslas there
THE BIG TOWER
The Big tower has the greatest fortification
The chapel was closed by four iron doors, locked by nine keys and watched by guardians.
HISTORY
This high gothic castle was founded in 1348 and has a unique position among Czech castles.
The first stay of Charles IV in the castle is documented in 1355
The construction of the castle was finished in 1365.
At the beginning of the Hussite wars, the castle became the place for safekeeping of the Czech coronation jewels
The castle was reconstructed in late Gothic style after 1480
The original step-like order of buildings is very impressive
And finally at the top there is the monumental 60m high and separately fortified Great Tower
FABLES ABOUT THE CASTLE
The history of Karlstejn contains many myths and incredible stories
One of the famous characters in the history of the castle was Václav Hájek z Libočan, well known for his Czech Chronicle
NO WO MAN CO UL D ENTER THE CASTL E
Previously any woman couldn´t enter Karlštejn
This myth goes into present times and some people still believe that it was true.
But it is not historically correct. This confusion was made by Václav Hájek
He wrote in his chronicle that women slept in Castle Karlík
The truth is written in the founding scroll of the canonry
THE BLIND MUSICIAN
Story is about a blind musician and his loyal dog.
He played the lute everywhere in the castle
The servant tried to poison the nobleman
A dog jumped on the table, drank the wine and died
The dog saved musician´s life
Next week musician died because of the grief for his dog
THE CZECH HANT
In the 16th century Kateřina Bechyňová lived in Karlštejn
She murdered fourteen people
A servant who did not fulfil her wish was thrown into a dungeon
Václav Hájek denounced Kateřina to the court
Ghosts of the dead maids haunt in the castle up to the present day
A NIGHT AT KARLŠTEJN
A Night at Karlštejn is a musical film, based on a play by Jaroslav Vrchlický
This 83 - minute long
Film was directed by Zdeněk Podskalský and filmed in Karlštejn in 1973.
STORYLINE
Charles IV, the Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor, has built Karlštejn castle to house the crown jewels
His young wife misses him, and in spite of the prohibition, resolves to sneak in for a night
Both women dress up as pages
Things get complicated when a foreign dignitary comes to discuss politics, the queen is the page guarding Charles' bedroom
CAST
All the actors are excellent (especially Vlastimil Brodský, Jana Brejchová, Karel Höger)
Vlastimil Brodský
Emperor Karel IV
Jana Brejchová Empress Elise of Pomerania
Karel HögerArchbishop Arnost of Pardubice
Jaroslav Marvan Burgrave
Milos Kopecký Duke Stepan of Bavaria
Waldemar Matuska Cyprian prince
Slávka Budínová Madame Ofka
Daniela Kolárová Burgrave's niece
Jaromír Hanzlík Emperor's page
Karel Hála Varlet
HOW TO GET TO THE CASTLE
The castle is situated in a village of the same name above the River Berounka about 30 kilometres away from Prague.
On foot:Very good trip is to go there on foot. The best way is to take a bus 313 from Radotín to Roblín and from there go on foot through Mořina to Karlštejn.
BY A CAR
I think that the best and easily way to get to Karlštejn is go by car using the motorway D5 in the direction to Plzeň ( Loděnice) and then by direction signs across the village of Bubovice and Hlásná Třebáň to Karlštejn.
Another possibility is a way across Praha – Radotín, Dobřichovice, Řevnice, Hlásná Třebáň to Karlštejn.
The only possibility where you can park your car is the Central Car Park in the village and then you have to go on foot to the castle. It takes about 20 minutes.
BY TRAIN
From Prague you can take a train (heading to Beroun) from the main station or the Smíchov station
The train leaves every 30 minutes. The journey takes about 40 minutes
In front of the hall station turn right and walk across a bridge over the river Berounka, then turn right again and after 50 metres turn left
TOURIST INFORMATION
You have a possibility to buy a ticket online by the internet
Rules for tourists:It is not allowed to touch any exhibits, take photos and make video recording inside the castle
SERVICES FOR VISITORS
After the sightseeing, the visitors can visit souvenir shops.
You can buy coin minting performed on the grounds of the castle
There is a parking area approximately 2 kilometres from the castle
CONCLUSION
Why did I choose the theme of Karlštejn?I like history and Karlštejn is a very important part of the Czech history
Why did I choose the topic in English?There were several aspects why I choose this topic
The first The second
THIS CASTLE IS FASCINATING, LOCATED IN A
NATURE PROTECTED AREA AND IT IS
WORTH SEEING AND VISITING.
RESOURCES
http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl%C5%A1tejn
http://www.hradkarlstejn.cz/
http://www.mestys-karlstejn.cz/
http://www.hrad-karlstejn.com/hradni-povesti.php